Until social-media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause,

I support Australia’s age ban

Level 2: Intermediate

1
  Warmer

a. Take this short quiz about your social-media use. Discuss your habits and opinions with your
classmates.

1. How often do you use social media?

a. several times a day

b. once a day

c. a few times a week

d. rarely or never

2. Which social-media platform do you use the most?

a. Facebook

b. Instagram

c. Twitter / X

d. TikTok
e. other (please specify) __________________________

3. How do you usually feel when you use social media?

a. happy

b. anxious

c. entertained

d. envious

e. informed

4. If social media disappeared, how would you feel?

a. less stressed

b. disconnected from friends and family

c. unsure how to spend my time

d. more productive in my daily life

e. unaffected
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 Until social-media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause,
I support Australia’s age ban
Level 2: Intermediate

2
  Key words

a. Write the correct words from the wordpool to match the definitions below. Then find and
highlight them in the article to read them in context.

addictive core isolated restriction

ban doubt media literacy threat
confirmation bias interaction neutral viewpoint

1. _________________________ officially forbid an action, activity or item

2. _________________________ not supporting or helping either side in a conflict or disagreement

3. _________________________ a rule or law that limits or controls something

4. _________________________ a feeling of uncertainty or to feel unsure about something

5. _________________________ the central or most important part of something

6. _________________________ a situation where two or more people communicate or react to

each other

7. _________________________ causing a strong habit or dependence that is hard to give up

8. _________________________ habits or behaviours to search for or interpret information in a

way that confirms someone’s existing beliefs

9. _________________________ a statement of an intention to cause harm or damage; a person

or thing likely to cause damage or danger

10. _________________________ the ability access, analyse, evaluate and create media in various
forms

11. _________________________ a way of thinking about or understanding something; someone’s

opinion about something

12. _________________________ permission for something to happen; an agreement or approval

given for something to happen or be done
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 Until social-media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause,
I support Australia’s age ban
Level 2: Intermediate
b. Complete the sentences with words from the previous activity. You might have to change the
form of the word.
1. Many schools have decided to _________________________ phones during class hours to
reduce distractions and improve focus.

2. In any relationship, _________________________ is critical. You should always respect your

partner’s decisions about their body and boundaries.

3. The _________________________ nature of social media can result in too much screen time
among teenagers, affecting their sleep and study habits.

4. Social-media algorithms often reinforce a person’s existing _________________________, which

can limit their exposure to different opinions and perspectives.

5. Some TikTok challenges aren’t safe and can be a(n) _________________________ to teenagers’
health and wellbeing.

6. The education authority added lessons on _________________________ to help students use

critical thinking skills while creating and consuming content.

7. Even with hundreds of online friends, some teens feel _________________________ because
they lack meaningful connections outside of social media.

8. It’s very easy to take sides. It’s much harder to stay _________________________.

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 Until social-media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause,
I support Australia’s age ban
Level 2: Intermediate
Chanel Contos 6 This, of course, harms young minds the most.
18 September, 2024 Platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram
know that young men are intrigued by content that
1 I support the Albanese government’s proposal for an expresses frustration with dating and women. It
age ban on social media overall, and surprisingly, so detects this quickly and pushes more extreme and
do many young people. A survey of 14- to 29-year- radical viewpoints, reinforcing harmful beliefs. It’s hard
olds found that 42 per cent were positive about the to separate this community from the online abuse
idea, and 25 per cent were neutral. But alone, a ban women are subjected to.
will not fix the real issue. 7 There are many benefits to social media too. The
2 There have always been age restrictions on platforms, Teach Us Consent campaign began when I posted
and since I signed up for Facebook at age 11, they’ve an Instagram story, which led to mandatory consent
been easy to avoid. I doubt this will change as laws education in Australia. The campaign gave many
will never be able to keep up with digital natives. I am young people a means to use their voice and tell
concerned that if teens don’t understand why there is policymakers about their experiences with sexual
a ban and without alternatives to socialise online, this violence. And for many with difficult or isolated home
may drive children to deeper parts of the web. lives, it is a blessing to have constant access to a
community.
3 Meta’s announcement of “teen accounts” on Instagram
for under-16s is the latest attempt to give parents 8 However, anyone who grew up with their own laptop or
more control. However, it’s unclear whether this will iPhone knows it was common to come across harmful
address the core issue, which is algorithms and how content on social media. Making this kind of content
they are used against us. Back in 2014, when a sick feel normal demonstrates the scale of harms that can
day meant lots of Instagram scrolling, you would see exist on these platforms when unregulated.
a message saying “You’re all caught up – you’ve seen 9 Social-media platforms have long known about the
all new posts from the past 48 hours.” The idea that significant harm they cause to their users, particularly
scrolling could end is now a distant memory. In 2016, young people. Ideally, these platforms would self-
Instagram switched from posts shown in chronological regulate to prevent this. But social-media companies
order by people you followed to an algorithmic feed know they directly benefit from our anger, differing
based on a user’s interactions and engagement. opinions and the time we spend on their platforms. So
4 In my experience, this is when platforms changed from until they accept responsibility, I see the government’s
being a fun way to keep up to date with friends to an proposed ban as a small but significant step. If nothing
addictive platform, working to keep you on the app for else, it would place social-media platforms on notice. It
as long as possible. may also give parents the confidence to restrict when
their children are allowed to join a platform, where
5 Algorithms risk harming children by getting them they will be shaped, for better or for worse.
hooked on unlimited fast-paced content. They can
affect us all by providing intense confirmation bias of
our beliefs. We have seen more hateful and extremist Chanel Contos is the founder of Teach Us Consent and the author
speech online, as well as the spread of misinformation of Consent Laid Bare.
© Guardian News and Media 2024
and disinformation – posing a serious threat to
First published in The Guardian, 18/09/2024
democracy. We have all become victims of being more
divided. Simultaneously, there has been little to no
education about media literacy to stop this.
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 Until social-media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause,
I support Australia’s age ban
Level 2: Intermediate

3
  Comprehension check

a. Answer the questions using information from the article.

1. What percentage of young people surveyed were positive about the age ban on social media?

2. Why does the author doubt that an age ban alone will solve the core issue with social media?

3. What does the author suggest might drive children to deeper parts of the web?

4. Why did Meta start “teen accounts” on Instagram for under-16s?

5. When did Instagram switch to an algorithmic feed?

6. What does the algorithmic feed prioritise?

7. According to the article, what effect do algorithms have on children?

8. How do these algorithms affect all users negatively?

9. What positive outcome did social media help achieve in Australia?

10. What could the government’s social-media age ban do besides directly protecting children?

4
  Key language

a. Change these nouns back to their verb form.

1. interaction __________________________

2. confirmation __________________________

3. misinformation __________________________

4. disinformation __________________________

5. education __________________________

6. frustration __________________________

b. Add the suffix -tion to the verbs below.

1. regulate __________________________

2. prevent __________________________

3. demonstrate __________________________

4. addict __________________________
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 Until social-media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause,
I support Australia’s age ban
Level 2: Intermediate
c. Choose two words with the suffix -tion from part a or b. Write a personalised sentence for each
one.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________

5
  Discussion

a. Discuss these statements.

• “Young people cannot live without the internet.”

• “Algorithms have made social media unhealthy and addictive.”
• “Social-media companies have a responsibility to protect people’s safety and wellbeing,
especially children and teens.”

6
  In your own words

a. Do some research about the effects of social media on mental health. Answer these questions.

• What positive and negative effects does social media have on mental health?
• What are the biggest concerns around children and teens using social media?
• Why do people continue to use social media if it makes them unhappy?
• How can social-media use become an addiction? How is it similar to or different from other
addictions?
• What are social-media companies doing to improve the situation?
• What have some governments done to help protect the people?
• In your opinion, what is the right thing for social-media companies to do?

b. Report your findings to the class and share the facts you learnt, as well as your opinions.
Include facts and statistics that support your research. Give reasons to support your answers.
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